is a Japanese

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

series written and illustrated by Seimu Yoshizaki. It follows the happenings which revolve around a small used manga store, specializing in old and obscure manga. A first series, titled ''Kingyoya Koshoten Suitouchō'', was published in

Shōnen Gahōsha is a Japanese publisher Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refer ...

's ''

Young King OURs is a monthly manga magazine published in Japan by Shōnen Gahōsha, aimed primarily at male audiences, mostly older teens and young adults. It is the sister publication of '' Young King'' (which in turn was the sister publication of the now-disc ...

''s special editions ''OURs Girl'' and ''OURs Lite'' from 2000 to 2002, with its chapters collected in two volumes. ''Kingyo Used Books'' was serialized in

Shogakukan is a Japanese publisher of comics, magazines, light novels, dictionaries, literature, non-fiction, home media, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but ...

manga magazine ''

Monthly Ikki was a monthly manga magazine published by Shogakukan. It tended to specialize in Underground comix, underground or alternative manga, but it had its share of major hits as well. The magazine started in 2000 as a spin-off (media), spin-off to S ...

'' from 2004 to 2014, when the magazine ceased its publication. It was then published via compiled volumes, with the final volume released in 2020. The series is collected into seventeen volumes. ''Kingyo Used Books'' was licensed in North America by

Viz Media Viz Media, LLC is an American entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California, focused on publishing manga, and distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series. The company was founded in 1986 as Viz, ...

under their Viz Signature Ikki label.

Plot

The story revolves around a used manga store, and has a series of

vignette Vignette may refer to: * Vignette (entertainment), a sketch in a sketch comedy * Vignette (graphic design), decorative designs in books (originally in the form of leaves and vines) to separate sections or chapters * Vignette (literature), short, i ...

-style chapters revolving around different characters. It extols the value of reading manga in one's life, and is notable for having references to several well-known, as well as obscure manga, from the smash-hit ''

Dr. Slump is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama. It was serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from February 1980 to September 1984, with the chapters collected in 18 volumes. The series ...

'', to the rarely heard-of ''Billy Puck''.

Publication

''Kingyo Used Books'' is written and illustrated by Seimu Yoshizaki. Yoshizaki first launched a series titled , which was published from 2000 to 2002 in

's ''

''s special editions ''OURs Girl'' and ''OURs Lite''. Two volumes were published on April 3 and June 26, 2003. Both volumes were re-released by

on December 24, 2004. ''Kingyo Used Books'' was serialized in Shogakukan's manga magazine ''

'' from March 25, 2004, to September 25, 2014, when the magazine ceased publication. The series was then continued via compiled volumes. The chapters were collected in seventeen volumes, released from December 24, 2004, to July 30, 2020. In North America, the series has been licensed by

for English language release and it debuted on ''Monthly Ikkis English website Sigikki on July 30, 2009. Only four volumes were released from April 20, 2010, to October 18, 2011.

Volumes

Reception

''Kingyo Used Books'' was one of the Jury Recommended Works at the 16th

Japan Media Arts Festival The Japan Media Arts Festival was an annual festival held since 1997 by Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs. The festival begins with an open competition and culminates with the awarding of several prizes and an exhibition. Based on judging by ...

in 2012. Carlo Santos in his

Anime News Network Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and ot ...

column "Right Turn Only" gave the manga a grade of "B", saying that "if you want to get a non-manga fan into manga, this is probably not the manga to give them." The critic went on to say, "Kingyo is, if anything, too fixated on giving history lessons, trying to drown the reader in footnotes and details rather than letting the series speak for itself."

References

External links